SASKATOON – Saskatoon’s government and residents need to do more to curb the city’s environmental footprint, according to a local environmentalist.

“The city needs to really turn its attention to implementing a plan that will cut emissions sharply in the decade ahead,” said Peter Prebble, the Saskatchewan Environmental Society’s director of environmental policy.

It takes gas emissions from its contents and turns in into power for roughly 1,300 homes, according to Hudson. He added that the project reduced the city’s emissions by the equivalent of removing 9,000 vehicles from the road.

“We’re very happy with the operation,” said Hudson, who noted that the facility could double in capacity as the landfill expands.

Besides government initiatives, some Saskatoon residents have taken matters into their own hands. Brian Sawatzky owns the Confederation Inn on Fairlight Drive and has added multiple solar panels to the roof of his hotel over the last five years.

“I firmly believe that global warming is a real issue and I wanted to do something about it,” said Sawatzky, who explained that between 10 to 20 per cent of his electricity comes from the panels.

“My water use is down by over half, my natural gas is down over 50 per cent and my electricity use is between 50 and 60 per cent.”

Sawatzky has made multiple changes to his property to become more environmentally friendly, reducing his utility bills by $120,000 a year. He added that he’s yet to earn back the money he’s spent on those changes but expects that to change in the coming years.

Saskatoon Light & Power said 27 customers have connected their own solar energy units to their properties.